Wisconsin’s campaign to investigate conservative tax-exempt groups has always seemed like an echo of the IRS’s scrutiny of conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status. It turns out that may be more than a coincidence.

Former IRS tax-exempt director Lois Lerner ran the agency’s policy on conservative groups. Kevin Kennedy runs the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (GAB) that helped prosecutors with their secret John Doe investigation of conservative groups after the 2011 and 2012 recall elections of Governor Scott Walker and state senators.

The Washington Post editorial board on Friday slammed San Francisco for its policies that allow illegal immigrants with criminal records to reside within the city with almost no fear of deportation.

San Francisco fell under renewed scrutiny recently when an illegal immigrant with an extensive rap sheet allegedly shot and killed 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle. Before the killing, federal immigration authorities had reportedly asked the city to inform them when the accused perpetrator, Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, was released from jail, where he had been booked on drug charges.

"Had the sheriff's office — which could easily have seen Mr. Lopez-Sanchez's extensive rap sheet — simply made a phone call to notify ICE of his scheduled release, he could have been handed over and deported," wrote the Post. "And Ms. Steinle would be alive."

Some of California’s politically powerful public-sector unions are gearing up for a 2016 ballot initiative that would “reform” Proposition 13 and get rid of its so-called tax “loopholes” to promote fairness. Their goal is to hike business property taxes by $9 billion a year by eliminating the limitations imposed by that groundbreaking initiative.

And the latest evidence suggests – despite supporters’ protests to the contrary – that residential property taxes could eventually be in the cross hairs.

Proposition 13 passed overwhelmingly in 1978 against a backdrop of escalating tax bills as property values soared. The measure limited taxation to 1 percent of a property’s assessed value (plus local bonds), and capped property tax increases to 2 percent annually. Real estate is reassessed each time it is sold.

The initiative’s supporters say it let owners predict the tax rate into the future – and protected them from the judgment of local tax assessors or the tax-raising efforts of county supervisors. It’s the one of the few areas in California, they note, where taxes are at a relatively low level.

The case of the Sweet Cakes bakers in Oregon who were ordered to pay $135,000 damages for not baking a cake for a gay wedding, and to also submit to a gag order, seemed unusually Draconian to me. I hadn’t read about it in detail, but I figured it had something to do with the liberalism of the Oregon courts. That turns out to have been incorrect, as ◼ this article by David French makes clear, because the case never was in the court system at all.

And if that reassures you, it shouldn’t. The truth is far more threatening to liberty. Our justice system, as expressed through the courts, is far from perfect, but the system of trial by extra-judicial agency or board that is becoming more and more common in these high-profile cases lacks many of the procedural safeguards that have been built into the court system over hundreds of years...KEEP READING

...Actually he is not a member of either party, but thinks that the NAACP should work with both parties saying that blind allegiance to the Democratic Party hinders true civil rights progress.

“The NAACP — on a national level, not necessarily a local level — has this liberal machine they bow down to that does nothing to help them in the long run,”

Which is why he welcomed Republicans' attempt to reach out to the black community, it gives them leverage to play one of the other.

“When National found out that I was bringing the governor [Larry Hogan, a Republican], the lieutenant governor [Boyd Rutherford, a Republican], and Dr. [Alveda] King to Baltimore and the Sandtown NAACP office, they literally called and said, ‘There’s no way in the world they can come into our office,'” Giordano explained. “Then the Mayor [Democrat, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake] — who kind of gave the us the NAACP office in Sandtown — called and said, ‘No, you’re not allowed.'”

“And then, the president [of the Baltimore NAACP branch, Tessa Hill-Aston] called me,” he continued. “And she said, ‘You know they’re having a fit because you’re bringing in too many Republicans.'"...

I think back on the days of my childhood, days when all the kids in the neighborhood I lived in would get together for a game of stickball. All colors, all nationalities, everyone would play. Some better than others, but everyone would play until our mothers called us home at dark for dinner. The only break would come when the ice cream truck came by, and if someone didn’t have the dime for ice cream, someone else would buy it for them.

Times have changed, but the basic principles of how I was brought up have stuck with me. It doesn’t make for a tranquil way of life these days. There is a choice which must be made by every one of our citizens. Do we keep those old values, or do we toss them to the side for a more modern way of living our lives?

San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi has deflected blame in the release of a Mexican national now facing murder charges in the Pier 14 slaying by demanding to know why federal authorities returned him to San Francisco to face a 20-year-old marijuana charge in the first place.

The answer, it turns out, is that the Sheriff’s Department asked federal officials to do so.

Democrats now will say anything to distance themselves from sanctuary city policies, even though they have supported these policies for years. In an exclusive CNN interview Tuesday, Hillary Rodham Clinton was asked about San Francisco’s refusal to hand over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement seven-time convicted felon and five-time deportee Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez. He stands accused in the fatal shooting of Kathryn Steinle as she took an evening stroll on Pier 14 last week. (After telling a local TV station he shot Steinle by accident, Lopez-Sanchez has pleaded not guilty to murder.) Clinton answered, “The city made a mistake not to deport someone that the federal government strongly felt should be deported. So I have absolutely no support for a city that ignores the strong evidence that should be acted on.”

In a 2007 Democratic presidential debate, the late Tim Russert asked Clinton if she would allow sanctuary cities to disobey federal law. “Well, I don’t think there is any choice,” she answered. Immigrants may not talk to police if “they think you’re also going to be enforcing the immigration laws.” She did not add a caveat that she wanted local law enforcement to work with immigration officials if the federal government had strong feelings that an individual should be deported.

In 2008, Clinton voted against an amendment to yank some federal funds from sanctuary cities. California Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer voted likewise — but it didn’t stop them from criticizing San Francisco for releasing a repeat offender.

Donald Trump controversy is turning into a fire sale. A GOP committee member just called on Kamala Harris to return donations from Trump.

Lou Dobbs: Donald J. Trump appears to be waking the country up. He may well do the same for this expanding field of GOP candidates, many of whom thought they might just get away with more of the same old, same old pablum and avoidance of the issues that matter. It appears the same old may be giving way to truth and what matters and perhaps a brand new voice in the GOP.

There’s a basic difference in the traditions of political science between “authoritarians” and “totalitaritarians.” People throw both of these words around, but as is so often the case, they’re using words they may not always understand. They have real meaning, however, and the difference between them is important.

...It is not enough for these Americans to say: “I have had my day in court and prevailed.” In effect, they now add: “You do not have the right to hold a different opinion, even if you lose in the public arena. You may not hold on to your belief as a minority view, or even as a private thought. And if you persist and still disagree, I will attack you without quarter and set others on you to deprive you of your status in your profession, of your standing in your community, and even of your livelihood.”

This attitude promises social warfare without end, because there is no peace to be had until the opposing side offers a sincere and unconditional surrender. It means that the people on the Left taking bakers to court, de-Africanizing Justice Thomas, and making Young an accomplice to rape will not be satisfied with winning. For the new totalitarians, prevailing in the courts or at the ballot boxes isn’t enough if there’s still a suspicion that anyone, anywhere, might still be committing thoughtcrime.

Every second, Norse collects and analyzes live threat intelligence from darknets in hundreds of locations in over 40 countries. The attacks shown are based on a small subset of live flows against the Norse honeypot infrastructure, representing actual worldwide cyber attacks by bad actors. At a glance, one can see which countries are aggressors or targets at the moment, using which type of attacks (services-ports).

Hovering over the ATTACK ORIGINS, ATTACK TARGETS, or ATTACK TYPES will highlight just the attacks emanating from that country or over that service-port respectively. Hovering over any bubble on the map, will highlight only the attacks from that location and type.

Every second, Norse collects and analyzes live threat intelligence from darknets in hundreds of locations in over 40 countries. The attacks shown are based on a small subset of live flows against the Norse honeypot infrastructure, representing actual worldwide cyber attacks by bad actors. At a glance, one can see which countries are aggressors or targets at the moment, using which type of attacks (services-ports).

Hovering over the ATTACK ORIGINS, ATTACK TARGETS, or ATTACK TYPES will highlight just the attacks emanating from that country or over that service-port respectively. Hovering over any bubble on the map, will highlight only the attacks from that location and type.

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

"Thank you, Luke Bruner for your presentation to the Humboldt Republican Central Committee tonight. We know it was a very long day for you, as you spent hours with the Board of Supervisors. We recommend everyone go to your website and learn more about California Cannabis Voice Humboldt (CCVH)'s proposed Land Use Ordinance. We appreciate the time and information, and look forward to the debate. ◼ Website: http://ccvhumboldt.org ◼ On Facebook"

Over the past year, local marijuana growers and activists, led by the political action group California Cannabis Voice-Humboldt (CCVH), have worked hard to legitimize the industry — drafting legislation, packing the Board of Supervisors chambers and urging “farmers” to come out of the shadows and be regulated. So when law enforcement this week raided grow operations on Island Mountain, including at least one belonging to a member of the group, activists viewed it as a betrayal of their trust.

The identity of the growers and/or property owners targeted in the raids have yet to be disclosed....

Meanwhile, CCVH still hopes to get a countywide outdoor cultivation ordinance on the books before the year is out. Local environmental leaders have pushed back against the group’s agenda and methods, comparing the situation to allowing timber companies to write their own rulebook.

Yesterday’s multi-agency marijuana raid at Island Mountain involved people currently active in the political action group California Cannabis Voice-Humboldt (CCVH), the group’s executive director, Richard Marks, confirmed this morning.

Weed is littered across the agenda for today’s meeting of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, and during the morning session the board quibbled over two main issues: First was a letter of support for Assembly Bill 243, a piece of statewide legislation written by the North Coast’s own Assemblymember Jim Wood.

The bill, called the Marijuana Watershed Protection Act, passed the Assembly last month in May and is now being considered on the floor of the Senate. Wood has said his bill is aimed at addressing the environmental impacts of medical marijuana farms, in part by creating “a structure to tag permitted medical cannabis plants with a unique identifier for each plant.”...

Luke Bruner, the enthusiastic young co-founder and public figurehead of the political action group California Cannabis Voice Humboldt (CCVH), spent nearly two hours this afternoon outlining the major provisions in his group’s ambitious Land Use Ordinance to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors. The document, more than a year in the making and now in its seventh draft, aims not only to bring Humboldt County’s rampaging marijuana industry into some semblance of order through a series of governmental regulations but also to serve as a template for regulation throughout rural California.

It’s the product of considerable effort and organization from a group few had heard of a year ago, and the task they undertook — trying to entice a profitable black market into the bonds of regulation and taxation on the one hand while, on the other, trying to convince the government to let an industry draft its own regulatory laws — could aptly be described as Herculean....

As the Outpost noted in a previous post, the proposed ordinance hinges on the addition of “cannabis” to the county’s definition of general agriculture. Once that change was in the books, Bruner explained, cannabis could be grown on any parcel in the county where general ag is currently allowed — including land zoned for timber production (TPZ). The exception would be within the Coastal Zone since the California Coastal Commission won’t allow it.

A stock market crash there has seen $3.2 trillion wiped from the value of Chinese shares in just three weeks, triggering an emergency response from the government and warnings of “monstrous” public disorder.

...Rather than give any one branch the final word, the Constitution creates three branches that can compete over its meaning. The separation of powers means not only that the President, Congress, and the Supreme Court are separate, but that they are also independent of one another. According to Jefferson, “the opinion which gives to the judges the right to decide what laws are constitutional, and what are not, not only for themselves in their own sphere of action, but for the Legislature & Executive also, in their spheres, would make the judiciary a despotic branch.” ...

What possesses a young girl, a teenager, to laugh at the coldblooded slaughter of beachgoers and sun-seekers on holiday? Islam. It’s what possesses tens of thousands of newly devout Muslims to flock to the Middle East to wage bloody jihad in the cause of Allah. - See more at: http://pamelageller.com/2015/07/lol-uk-schoolgirl-jihadis-sick-reaction-to-the-tunisian-beach-massacre-in-a-series-of-savage-texts.html/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#sthash.7j592GkL.dpuf

The messages make clear that she now has an active role as a recruiter and ‘mentor’, planting the seeds of jihad in impressionable teenage minds.

In the exchange she reveals:

Detailed advice and information about how the ‘recruit’ could fool her parents and sneak out of Britain and into Syria via Turkey.
A stark portrayal of the isolated and subservient lifestyle the female recruits face when they arrive in IS-controlled areas.
How she has already lined up a prospective husband for the young girl – but as the jihadi’s SECOND wife.
That she misses her family and life in England but claims ‘Allah replaces all that with something better’.

In the most shocking messages, sent on Friday night, Abase is asked if she had heard about the Tunisian killings. She replies ‘Yhh I have, trusst [me] man’ – but said she hadn’t seen the pictures of the gunman.

Of the 30 British victims, she says, as if in awe, ‘Wow, damn thats a lot....’ MORE at the link.

Less than five years ago, President Obama and his supporters were positively taunting three Republican governors who chose to forfeit federal stimulus money that had been earmarked for high-speed rail lines in their states. Rick Scott of Florida, John Kasich of Ohio and Scott Walker of Wisconsin were supposedly costing their states needed jobs and, shockingly, giving away free money.

The Los Angeles Times went so far as to mock the voters of Wisconsin and Ohio in 2010 for electing Walker and Kasich, who had both promised to scrap the high-speed lines that their Democratic predecessors had approved. The Times' editorialists smugly celebrated the fact that California would be getting the biggest share of that cash instead for its own high-speed rail project....

Today, those same editors are choking on crow. And those governors look like geniuses, at least for this choice.

...State Sen. Andy Vidak, a Republican, has attracted bipartisan support for his bill to give the state's voters a chance to reconsider the whole thing.

Professor Sir Tim Hunt had won every honor in his field, from Fellowship of the Royal Society to the Nobel Prize. But last month, the pioneering biochemist was dismissed from his post at University College, London (UCL). Why? Because, speaking at a lunch to celebrate female scientists in Seoul, he had introduced his remarks with a clumsy joke about finding it hard to work with women in the laboratory because he fell in love with them and they cried.

Welcome

Hi, I'm John Schutt, chairman of the Humboldt County Republican Central Committee: Want to get involved? We need republicans for open spots on the central committee, committee seats, letters to the editor writers, and more. Send me your thoughts and ideas on making Humboldt great again. Please feel free to call the office (442-2259) or leave a message here (or on Facebook) and I will get back to you as soon as possible.